One-on-five: Everybody knows Dirk Nowitzki is a superstar. But over the last few years, it’s remarkable how much of the load he’s carried for the Mavericks. In the last four seasons, Nowitzki has scored 7,144 points in the regular season. That equates to 23 percent of the Mavericks’ offense. And that doesn’t include assists, or deduct for the games he missed because of injury or suspension. Whether or not he misses the first week, two weeks, three or more, his absence will be felt.

mkuhn325 ... Eddie what are your thoughts on Dojo's gameplay the last 2 games? Has a lightbulb turned on or is he rattled by the trade rumors?

Eddie Sefko: My thoughts are it's about darned time. Sorry, I'm still getting the hang of this new system. Didn't mean to send that abrupt response. Although it is the way I feel. What I intended to add onto it was that Jones has had some unique skills ever since he got into the NBA. It's just taken a really long time for those skills to get a little polish on them. It will be nice to see if he can keep the production up. Six assists off the bench in limited minutes in each of the last two games ought to get Roddy Beaubois' attention, don't you think?

by mkuhn325 ... It looks like Jae Crowder is emerging as a fan favorite. Do you see his minutes declining much once # 41 returns?

Eddie Sefko: Well, somebody's going to get squeezed out. You can bet on that. Dirk's not suddenly going to be a 20-minute player. My guess is Crowder still finds his way on the court because the management sees him as a potential replacement for Shawn Marion down the line as the starter at small forward. I could see Elton Brand, Troy Murphy, Brandan Wright and Bernard James all taking minutes cuts when Dirk returns, which by the way still isn't going to be anytime soon, from what I'm hearing.

by Bethany ... Which has been the most impressive win so far, considering the circumstances?

Eddie Sefko: Even with the Lakers struggling, winning in LA is something not very many teams are going to do this year. That was a high-quality win to put in the bank. The Mavericks have only won in LA a handful of times in their franchise history (excluding one particular playoff series, of course). Ask anybody and they'll rank a win in LA as one of the high points of a season.

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